In the collection of the revenue in the Penjáb it is stated to be a general rule, that the chiefs, to whom the territories belong, should receive one half of the produce[82], and the farmer the other: but the chief never levies the whole of his share: and in no country, perhaps, is the Rayat, or cultivator, treated with more indulgence. Commerce is not so much encouraged; heavy duties are levied upon it by all petty rulers through whose districts it passes: and this, added to the distracted state in which the Penjáb has been, from the internal disputes of its possessors, caused the rich produce of Cásmír to be carried to India by the difficult and mountainous tract of Jammu, Nadón, and Srínagar. The Sikh chiefs have, however, discovered the injury which their interests have suffered from this cause, and have endeavoured, and not without success, to restore confidence to the merchant; and great part of the shawl trade now flows through the cities of Lahore, Amritsar, and Patiálá, to Hindústan.
The administration of justice in the countries under the Sikhs, is in a very rude and imperfect state; for, though their scriptures inculcate general maxims of justice, they are not considered, as the Old Testament is by the Jews, or the Korán by the Muhammedans, as books of law: and, having no fixed code, they appear to have adopted that irregular practice, which is most congenial to the temper of the people, and best suited to the unsteady and changing character of their rule of government. The following appears to be the general outline of their practice in the administration of justice.
Trifling disputes about property are settled by the heads of the village, by arbitration[83], or by the chiefs. Either of these modes, supposing the parties consent to refer to it, is final; and they must agree to one or other. If a theft occurs, the property is recovered, and the party punished by the person from whom it was stolen, who is aided on such occasions by the inhabitants of his village, or his chief. The punishment, however, is never capital[84]. Murder is generally revenged by the relations of the deceased, who, in such cases, rigorously retaliate on the murderer, and often on all who endeavour to protect him.
The character of the Sikhs, or rather Singhs, which is the name by which the followers of Gúrú Góvind, who are all devoted to arms, are distinguished, is very marked. They have, in general, the Hindú cast of countenance, somewhat altered by their long beards, and are to the full as active as the Mahrátas; and much more robust, from their living fuller, and enjoying a better and colder climate. Their courage is equal, at all times, to that of any natives of India; and when wrought upon by prejudice or religion, is quite desperate. They are all horsemen, and have no infantry in their own country, except for the defence of their forts and villages, though they generally serve as infantry in foreign armies. They are bold, and rather rough, in their address; which appears more to a stranger from their invariably speaking in a loud tone[85] of voice: but this is quite a habit, and is alike used by them to express the sentiments of regard and hatred. The Sikhs have been reputed deceitful and cruel; but I know no grounds upon which they can be considered more so than the other tribes of India. They seemed to me, from all the intercourse I had with them, to be more open and sincere than the Mahrátas, and less rude and savage than the Afgháns. They have, indeed, become, from national success, too proud of their own strength, and too irritable in their tempers, to have patience for the wiles of the former; and they retain, in spite of their change of manners and religion, too much of the original character of their Hindú ancestors, (for the great majority are of the Hindú race,) to have the constitutional ferocity of the latter. The Sikh soldier is, generally speaking, brave, active, and cheerful, without polish, but neither destitute of sincerity nor attachment; and if he often appears wanting in humanity, it is not so much to be attributed to his national character, as to the habits of a life, which, from the condition of the society in which he is born, is generally passed in scenes of violence and rapine.
The Sikh merchant, or cultivator of the soil, if he is a Singh, differs little in character from the soldier, except that his occupation renders him less presuming and boisterous. He also wears arms, and is, from education, prompt to use them whenever his individual interest, or that of the community in which he lives[86], requires him to do so. The general occupations of the Khalása Sikhs has been before mentioned. Their character differs widely from that of the Singhs. Full of intrigue, pliant, versatile, and insinuating, they have all the art of the lower classes of Hindús, who are usually employed in transacting business: from whom, indeed, as they have no distinction of dress, it is very difficult to distinguish them.
The religious tribes of Acálís, Shahíd, and Nirmala, have been noticed. Their general character is formed from their habits of life. The Acálís are insolent, ignorant, and daring: presuming upon those rights which their numbers and fanatic courage have established, their deportment is hardly tolerant to the other Sikhs, and insufferable to strangers, for whom they entertain a contempt, which they take little pains to conceal. The Sháhíd and the Nirmala, particularly the latter, have more knowledge, and more urbanity. They are almost all men of quiet, peaceable habits; and many of them are said to possess learning.
There is another tribe among the Sikhs, called the Nánac Pautra, or descendants of Nánac, who have the character of being a mild, inoffensive race; and, though they do not acknowledge the institutions of Gúrú Góvind, they are greatly revered by his followers, who hold it sacrilege to injure the race of their founder; and, under the advantage which this general veneration affords them, the Nánac Pautra pursue their occupations; which, if they are not mendicants, is generally that of travelling merchants. They do not carry arms; and profess, agreeably to the doctrine of Nánac, to be at peace[87] with all mankind.
The Sikh converts, it has been before stated, continue, after they have quitted their original religion, all those civil usages and customs of the tribes to which they belonged, that they can practise, without infringing the tenets of Nánac, or the institutions of Gúrú Góvind. They are most particular with regard to their intermarriages; and, on this point, Sikhs descended from Hindús almost invariably conform to Hindú customs, every tribe intermarrying within itself. The Hindú usage, regarding diet, is also held equally sacred; no Sikh, descended from a Hindú family, ever violating it, except upon particular occasions, such as a Gúrú-matá, when they are obliged, by their tenets and institutions, to eat promiscuously. The strict observance of these usages has enabled many of the Sikhs, particularly of the Ját[88] and Gujar[89] tribes, which include almost all those settled to the south of the Satléj, to preserve an intimate intercourse with their original tribes; who, considering the Sikhs not as having lost cast, but as Hindús that have joined a political association, which obliges them to conform to general rules established for its preservation, neither refuse to intermarry[90] nor to eat with them.